About

About Northeastern Louisiana and the Monroe area:

Located along the busy Interstate 20 corridor (between Atlanta, GA & Dallas, TX), northeastern Louisiana provides a wide mix of both urban and rural life and is within reasonable driving distance from such Major Metro areas including Shreveport, Louisiana, Jackson, Mississippi, Baton Rouge & New Orleans, Louisiana, and Houston & Dallas Texas, Memphis, Tennessee and Little Rock, Arkansas.

Monroe, West Monroe, Bastrop, Ruston, Winnsboro, Rayville, Dehli and just a few of the towns that are located in the region and ham radio has built a solid reputation in the community over the years.

Currently there are 650+ licensed ham radio operators that live within 50 miles of the Monroe area, and several hundred hams from around the region make it to the hamfest.

Area Attractions:

Aviation and Military Museum of Louisiana

Step back into history with displays on Delta Airlines, Selman Field, General Chennault, Flying Tigers, and rare war memorabilia. A museum dedicated to preserving the history of aviation in the Northeast Louisiana area. If you are interested in military history, this museum is a MUST see !
Open Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Sunday 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Free Admission
701 Kansas Lane (near Monroe Airport)
318-361-9020
Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo
This unique zoo is the premier family attraction in Northeast Louisiana, with a collection that boasts over 500 animals from around the world. Enjoy a relaxing walking tour, boat excursion ride or draft horse-drawn wagon ride, the zoo’s newest feature. You can also sit atop these giant Percheron horses for the ride of a lifetime.
Open daily 10:00am – 5:00pm.
Admission, $4.50 adult; $3.00 children 3-12 and senior citizens; Free for children 2 and under. 1405 Bernstein Park Drive 318-329-2400

Monroe Regional Airport:

Monroe Regional Airport (MLU) is located 4 statue miles east of the City of Monroe. Access to the airport is obtained through Interstate 20/Exit 120 and Louisiana Highway 80/Kansas Lane. MLU encompasses approximately 2,600 acres, has two 5000’ runways, one 7500’ runway and is owned and operated by the City of Monroe. Monroe Regional Airport has provided commercial passenger services for NE Louisiana since 1929.
Monroe Regional Airport 5400 Operations Road, Suite 201 Monroe, LA. 71203 Phone: 318-329-2461 / Fax: 318-329-2599
The Monroe Regional Airport offers fight services to a number major cities. Currently, there are three FAR Part 121 airlines (Delta Air Lines, Continental Express, and Northwest Airlink) that provide services to Monroe Regional Airport.

Restaurants:

Local popular restaurants include:

Ray's Pe-Ge - U.S. Hwy 80 - Famous PoBoys and sandwiches - 318-343-0710

Danken Trail BBQ - U.S. Hwy 80 - 318-343-0773

Cypress Inn - 318-345-0202

Waterfront Grill - 318-345-0064

Other popular restaurants are located in an near Pecanland Mall and include: Hog Wild BBQ, Applebees, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, McAlister's Deli, Copeland's, Subway, Sonic Drive-In, IHOP, O'Charlie's, Eastern Empire Chinese, and Chick-Fil-A (inside mall), Great American Cookie Company ( inside mall) McDonalds (inside mall).

Shopping:

There a numerous places within several miles of the HamFest location. One is the premier shopping malls in the region is Pecanland Mall. Popular stores at the mall include: Sears, J.C. Penny, Radio Shack, Ritz Camera, Stage, Dillard's and many others. For a complete list visit www.pecanlandmall.com).

Other nearby stores include Target, Sam's Club, Home Depot, Lowes, and Wal-Mart.

Hotels:

The Monroe area has a variety of hotels to choose from. Here is a list of the ones that are in close proximity to the Hamfest Location:

Days Inn - Frontage Road west of HamFest
Best Western Airport Inn - Garrett Road
Courtyard - Pecanland Mall (Garrett Road)
Residence Inn - Pecanland Mall (Garrett Road)
Holiday Inn - Holidome - U.S. 165
LaQuinta Inn - U.S. 165
Comfort Suites - U.S. 165
Hampton Inn - U.S. 165
Ramada - U.S. 165

For additional information contact:
David S. Gore, W5DSG
Event Coordinator and Point of Contact
318-235-6845
318-237-9245
e-mail: w5dsg @ arrl.net